I’m emailing y’all this morning about our class next week on Gender + Sexuality! Sweeee! I’m really excited for this class as this is one of the ‘topics’ that I’ve seen left out of reproductive justice conversations way too many times. So we’re gonna SLAM IT DOWN and make up for time and space wasted.

Note our location change for November 16th! We will be in Room 2134/35 in the Student Life Centre at UWaterloo (down the hall from the window room where we usually meet.)
Here are a couple of things to attend to in preparation for our adventure into the glittery spider webs of gender + sexuality:

Ask Yourself: “What is my gender? How do I relate to it? Is it important to my understanding of myself?” Bring your answers to our class. There will be time to share your answers and thoughts (or further questions!) if you wish to do so.

Ever wondered how folks are able to push BABIES out of their bodies? (How is this even physically POSSIBLE?!!) Ever thought about how folks learn how to breastfeed? Or change diapers? Or find five minutes of rest while living with a small, screaming creature?

*dun-dun-duh-DAH!* Cue: BETH MURCH! From her website: “My name is Beth Murch and I am a professional Antenatal, Labour, and Postpartum Doula and independent Placenta Service Provider in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, as well as a director for the Kitchener-Waterloo Doula Collective.” PLUS she’s a fantastic human being and she gives the best hugs ever.

Beth is a member of our community class – “A Critical Survey of Abortion Rights and Reproductive Justice in Canada.” This week she will be facilitating our time together and welcome us into the wonderful world of doulas!

For those who won’t be there to witness the fireworks in person, you can check out the readings that Beth had us all explore before today’s class! The first is a resource list of sorts – a smorgasbord of delightful links, videos, and other things to introduce us into the world of ‘alternative’ birthing practice. (“Alternative Birth Readings”) The second is a story, written by Beth, that offers us a small glimpse into her day-to-day practice. (“Birth By Hand”)

If you want to connect with Beth, you can call or email her! Telephone: 519-998-3204 / E-mail: beth.murch@gmail.com

With a couple edits to the lyrics (i.e. inserting some sexy consent!), I would be SO DOWN to do a drag of Katy Perry’s ‘song’, “Peacock.”

Why would I do this? For starters, I’m super addicted to the song. That’s right. I SAID IT. I am fine to admit it.

Second – it simply begs for some SERIOUS queering. Every time I listen, I imagine this uber amazing breakdown: me wearing a gigantic set of feathers (assortment of pinks and purples), gyrating in front of a bus stop (why not?), with a set of genderfucking back-up dancers bringing something fierce. Imagine a bus pulling up and all the people riding raising some mad Lezbian Fists!

MAYBE I’ll ship my ass over to England for the next Alternative Miss World dressed as a giant silicone peacock!

And it goes without saying that telling your lover(s) that you want to admire the majesty of their flesh-and-silicone treasures is simply the best.

I’m in the creation phase of a public performance project. I’m going to have amazing mind sex with the idea of Public Dreaming. It’s gonna be great.

What is Pubic Dreaming? Who does it? In what ‘Public’? QUESTIONS! So many questions… I’m really excited to start mapping out how, for example, I might dream on the bus about seeing an ad saying, “Pregnant? In crisis? Call the PEOPLE WHO CARE hotline now! Speak to a non-judgmental human being who can tell you about abortion, adoption, parenting, or communal living supports!”

Or, another idea that excites me very much = dreaming about really raunchy queer sex romps while in line to pay for my lunch at the Municipal Administration building. (Or in any staunch, sterile place, really.)

“The Eggplant Faerie Players is a vaudeville circus troupe based at the queer community of Ida in the buckle of the Bible belt in Tennessee. Eggplant uses juggling, unicycles, stilts, satire, dance and drag to engage, challenge and electrify young and old alike. Picture Dame Edna and W.C. Fields doing Shakespeare.”

WHAAAAAAAATTTT?!!!

I’m now going to go fall asleep and see what image of the Eggplant Players I can conjure up in Zzz Land…

Ever wanted to try some Super Sexy Borscht? Today is your DAY! Use up all them beets sitting in your fridge! Incite a REVOLUTION in your kitchen!
*Ahem* (I get really excited about beets…)

Let’s move onto some Updates and Reminders, shall we?!

Readings! Remember to do yer readings, superstars! You’ve got two videos to watch and a blog to check out. (“Stolen Sisters” clips and “ClassAction Dec 29.m4v” – both available through links on our class website.) Easy as pumpkin pie!

Location! For the next three weeks (October 26th, November 2nd, and November 9th) we’ll be meeting in our usual space (Room 2143 in the Student Life Centre, the room with all the windows.)

Visitors! A reminder that next week (November 2nd) we’re having visitors! 2 midwives who work with Planned Parenthood will be joining us for the second half of class to help us make connections between sexual violence, the birthing journey and process, and reproductive justice.

Sharing! I really loved this piece and wanted to share it with y’all: “The Queer Fat Femme Guide to Better [Gay] Sex.” The author/blogger, Bevin, does a really great job of explaining how enthusiastic consent is super sexy, which is something that we’ll be talking about during our class on November 2nd. (If you’re wondering what this has to do with reproductive justice – just wait until our class on November 9th when we’ll be talking about Gender + Sexuality!)

This Sunday starting at 1:30 PM we will be staging a pro-choice rally outside of Grand River Hospital. *cue pump up music*

Simultaneously, anti-choicers (primarily KW Right to Life) will be doing their thing, which usually consists of holding up ‘abortion is genocide’ posters (probably one of the most offensive things I’ve ever seen.)

Major applause goes to Zoe Miller – a member of our class! – for organizing this pro-choice action! Let’s support our peer and our community by joining in on the fun on Sunday!

Details from Zoe:
“Hey everyone. As some of you know, Right to Life and other anti-choice groups in the region like to hold vigils and protests out side of the hospital. Usually they do it in front of Freeport (where abortions are actually performed) but on Sunday they will be outside of GRH to get more attention (busier area). I suggest that we all meet up at 1:30 in the Uptown parkade (corner of King Street and Willis Way, Waterloo) and then walk/bus/drive down to the hospital and botha botha botha them.

Please bring/make your own signs, as we don’t have time between now and Sunday to organize and make some together.

Please keep ‘woman’ out of the picture. Reproductive rights also affect people who aren’t women.

Welcome!

This blog is about bringing a queer politic to reproductive justice. Most posts are written by Ashling Ligate, a white queer living in Kitchener-Waterloo, Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, Canada. Other posts are written by friends and lovers.

This site is ALSO the online location of a community-based learning class: "A Critical Survey of Abortion Rights and Reproductive Justice in Canada."

The class members are a bunch of folks who have an interest in abortion rights and reproductive justice. We'll be meeting with each other from September until December 2011.